An Overview of Genetic Engineering essays

An Overview of Genetic Engineering essays Imagine a world full of 'mini Hitlers' seeking world domination, killing millions as their solution to establish a superior race or bunch or 2 headed humans eating a pig with 6 legs. These scenarios may sound like something out a science fiction novel, but this is the kind of things that people think about when they hear the words 'genetic engineering' Genetic engineering is now an important part of this world. It is used to cure diseases, develop food that grows faster and food that's healthier. Without genetic engineering, it will not be possible to feed the 10 billion humans expected by the year 2030. Only by using this new technology can we increase food production enough so that it is possible to feed this growing world. This can be done by producing plant varieties that are more precisely adapted to local conditions. This also helps poor farmers by reducing their expenses such as pesticides. In developing worlds, there are over 100 million children with vitamin A deficiency causing huge problems such as blindness. These people eat mainly rice and rice has no vitamin A. Right now the only way they can get enough vitamin A is by costly supplements that don't reach everyone. So scientists are genetically engineering rice so that it contains vitamin A, and this rice seed could be distributed to the poorest areas of the world, a brilliant and simple idea. So how can consumers live in the developed world benefit from plant biotechnology? Using modern biotechnology scientists have already produced food with improved flavor, food that is better for health and food with better qualities. Examples of these are apples and sweet corns that are insect resistant, frost resistant strawberries, and seedless grapes. One of the main reasons why people oppose genetic engineering is that they think biotechnology is an imprecise science and so it will likely to result in unanticipated outcomes and dangerous surprises. But did you know th...

James Hutton Essay Example

James Hutton Essay Example James Hutton Paper James Hutton Paper James Hutton A report done by Sarah Lynn Brixey James Hutton was a Scottish geologist, naturalist, and experimental farmer. He is considered the father of modern geology. His theories of geology and geologic time, are also called deep time, and came to be included in theories which were called plutonism and uniformitarianism. Plutonism is the disproven theory that all rocks formed by solidification of a molten mass. Uniformitarianism means of or pertaining to the thesis that processes that operated in the remote geological past are not different from those observed now. Another definition of uniformitarianism is supporting, conforming to, or derived from a theory or doctrine about uniformity, esp. on the subject of geology. In this report on James Hutton, you will learn who he was, his theory of rock formations, and his publication career. James Hutton was born in Edinburgh on June 3, 1726 as one of five children of a merchant who was also Edinburgh City Treasurer, but died when James was very young. He attended school at the Edinburgh High School, where he was particularly interested in mathematics and chemistry. At the age of 14, he attended the University of Edinburgh as a â€Å"student of humanity†. He was an intern to a lawyer at the age of 17, but took more of an interest in chemical experiments than legal work. At the age of 18, he became a doctor’s assistant and attended lectures of medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Three years later, he studied medicine in Paris, and in 1749, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Leyden with a thesis on blood circulation. Around 1747, he had a son by a woman named Miss Edington, and other than giving the boy financial assistance, he had little to do with him. The boy went on to become a post office clerk in London. After receiving his degree, Hutton returned to London, and in the summer of 1750, at the age of 24, went back to Edinburgh and resumed experiments with close friend, James Davie. Their work on production of sal ammoniac from soot led to their partnership in profitable chemical works, manufacturing the crystalline salts which were used for dyeing, metalwork, and as smelling salts that were previously available only from natural sources and that had to be imported from Egypt. Hutton owned and rented out properties in Edinburgh, which employed a factor to manage this business. James Hutton inherited his father’s Berwickshire farms of Slighthouses, which are lowland farms that had been in the family since 1713, and a hill farm of Nether Monynut. In the early 1750s, he moved to Slighthouses, with his goal being to making improvements, which introduced farming practices from other parts of Britain and experimenting with plant and animal cultivation. He recorded his ideas and innovations in an unpublished thesis on The Elements of Agriculture. This developed his interest in meteorology and geology, and by 1753, he had become very fond of studying the surface of the earth, and was looking with anxious curiosity into every pit or ditch or bed of a river he came across. Working in a clearing and draining his farm provided many opportunities, and he noticed that a vast proportion of the present rocks are composed of materials afforded by the destruction of bodies, animal, vegetable and mineral, of more ancient formation†. His theoretical ideas began to come together in 1760, and while his farming activities continued, in 1764, he went on a geological tour of the north of Scotland with George Maxwell-Clerk. In 1768, Hutton returned to Edinburgh, leaving his farms to tenants but continuing to take an interest in farm improvements and research, which included experiments carried out at Slighthouses. He developed a red dye made from the roots of the madder plant. He had a house built in 1770 at St. John’s Hill, Edinburgh, overlooking Salisbury Crags. He was one of the most influential participants in the Scottish Enlightenment, and fell in with numerous first-class minds in the sciences including John Playfair, philosopher David Hume, and economist Adam Smith. He was a particularly close friend of Joseph Black, and the two of them together with Adam Smith founded the Oyster Club for weekly meetings, that included Hutton and Black to find a venue, which turned out to have rather disreputable associations. Between 1767 and 1774, Hutton had considerable close involvement with the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canal, making full use of his geological knowledge, both as a shareholder and as a member of the committee of management, and attended meetings including extended site inspections of all the works. In 1777, he published a pamphlet on Considerations on the Nature, Quality and distinctions of Coal and Culm, which successfully helped to obtain relief from removal duty on carrying small coal. Hutton hit on a variety of ideas to explain the rock formations he saw around him, but according to Playfair, he â€Å"was in no haste to publish his theory; for he was one of those who are much more delighted with the contemplation of truth, than with the praise of having discovered it. † After some 25 years of work, his Theory of the Earth; or and Investigation of the Laws observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe was read to meetings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in two parts, first by his friend Joseph Black on March 7, 1785, and the second by himself on April 4, 1785. He subsequently read an abstract of his dissertation Concerning the System of the Earth, its Duration and Stability to the Society meeting on July 4, 1785, which he had printed and circulated privately. In it, his theory states that the solid part of the present land appears in general, to have been composed of the productions of the sea, and of other materials similar to those now found upon the shores. Hence we find reason to conclude:  ·That the land on which we rest is not simple and original, but that it is a composition, and has been formed by the operation of second causes.  ·That before the present land was made, there had subsisted a world composed of sea and land, in which were tides and currents, with such operations at the bottom of the sea as now take place.  ·That while the present land is forming at the bottom of the ocean, the former land maintained plants and animals; at least the sea was then inhabited by animals, in a similar manner as it is presently. Hence we are led to conclude, that the greater part of our land, if not the whole had been produced by operations natural to this globe; but that in order to make this land a permanent body, resisting the operations of the waters, two things must be required.  ·The consolidation of masses formed by collections of loose or incoherent materials.  ·The elevation of those consolidated masses from the bottom of the sea, the place where they were collected, to the stations in which they now remain above the level of the ocean. At Glen Tilt in the Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands, Hutton found granite penetrating metamorphic schists, in a way, which indicated that the granite had been molten at the time. This showed him that granite formed from cooling of molten rock, not precipitation out of water, as others at the time had believed, and that the granite must be younger than the schists. He went on to find a similar penetration of volcanic rock through sedimentary rock near the center of Edinburgh, at Salisbury Crags, adjoining Arthur’s Seat, which is now known as Hutton’s Section. He found other examples on the Isle of Arran, also known as Hutton’s Unconformity and in Galloway. In 1787, Hutton noted what is now known as the Hutton Unconformity at Inchbonny, Jedburgh, in layers of sedimentary rock. Hutton reasoned that there must have been several cycles, each involving deposition on the seabed, uplift with tilting and erosion, then undersea again for further layers to be deposited, and there have been many cycles before over an extremely long history. Although Hutton privately circulated printed version of the abstract of his Theory, which he read at a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on July 4, 1785, the theory as read at the March 7, 1785 and April 4, 1785 meetings did not appear in print until 1788. It was titled Theory of the Earth; or and Investigation of the Laws observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe and appeared in Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Following criticism, especially Richard Kirwan’s, who thought he was an atheist and not logical, among other things, Hutton published a two volume version of his theory in 1795, consisting of the 1788 version of his theory that included slight additions along with a lot of material drawn from shorter papers Hutton already had to hand on various subjects such as the origin of granite. It included a review of alternative theories, such as those of Thomas Burnet and Georges-Louis Leclerc, and Comte de Buffon. This whole was entitled An Investigation of the Principles of Knowledge and of the Progress of Reason, from Sense to Science and Philosophy when the third volume was completed in 1794. Its 2,138 pages prompted Playfair to remark that â€Å"The great size of the book, and the obscurity which may justly be objected to many parts of it, have probably prevented it from being received as it deserves†. His new theories placed him into opposition with the then-popular Neptunist theories of Abraham Gottlob Werner that all rocks had precipitated out of single enormous flood. Hutton proposed that the interior of the Earth was hot, and that this heat was the engine, which drove the creation of new rock; land was eroded by air and water and deposited into stone, and uplifted it into new lands. This theory was dubbed â€Å"Plutonist† in contrast to the flood-oriented theory. As well as combating the Neptunists, he also opened up the concept of deep time for scientific purposes, in opposition to Catastrophism. Rather than accepting that the Earth was no more than a few thousand years old, he maintained that the Earth must be much older, with a istory extending indefinitely into the distant past. His main line of argument was that the tremendous displacements and changes he was seeing did not happen in a short period of time by means of catastrophe, but that processes still happening on earth in the present day had caused them. As these processes were very gradual, the Earth needed to be ancient, in order to allow time for the changes. Before long, scie ntific inquiries provoked by his claims had pushed back the age of the earth into the millions of years- still too short when compared with what is known as in the 21st century, but a distinct improvement. The prose of Principles of Knowledge was so obscure, in fact, that it also impeded the acceptance of Hutton’s geological theories. Restatements of his geological ideas by John Playfair in 1802 and then Charles Lyell in the 1830s removed this hindrance. If anything, Hutton’s ideas were eventually accepted too well. At least some of the initial resistance to modern scientific ideas like plate tectonics and asteroid strikes causing mass extinctions can be attributed to too-strict adherence to uniformitarianism. It was not merely the Earth to which Hutton directed his attention. He had long studied the changes of the atmosphere. The same volume in which his Theory of Earth appeared contained also a Theory of Rain. He contended that the amount of moisture, which the air can retain in solution, increases with temperature, and, therefore, that on the mixture of two masses of air of different temperatures a portion of the moisture must be condensed and appear in visible form. He investigated the available data regarding rainfall and climate in different regions of the globe, and came to the conclusion that the rainfall is regulated by the humidity of the air on the one hand, and mixing of different air currents in the higher atmosphere on the other. In conclusion, James Hutton was a great man who did many things. On a more personal note, reading and learning about him peaked my curiosity in the things that we are learning in Earth Science class, and also to an extent in Geography. Before reading this, I didn’t really care about geology or rocks, for that matter. But after reading this, it sort of made me want to learn more about geology. Bibliography Page 1. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/277702/James-Hutton 2. plutonism. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online. 1 September 2008 merriam-webster. com/dictionary/plutonism

Strategic planning at Canon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic planning at Canon - Essay Example Canon is a firm that is already well established in the global market. The success of the firm can be considered as the result of a well structured strategic planning process where the needs of the firm’s departments are aligned and are appropriately served through flexible strategic measures. At the time when the firm established – in 1957 – the use of strategic planning for the promotion of a firm’s interests was limited. Through the years, the firm managed to improve its strategic plans responding to the customer demands but also to the global competition – which has been increased at quite high levels the last decade. The firm has chosen to apply three different – in terms of their duration - strategic plans. In the short term, the improvement of the firm’s finances has been set as a priority – the pressure of the global competition is clear. In the medium term, however, the firm chooses to focus on its goals and its resources (both capital and human resources). In the long term, the criteria for the development of the firm’s strategic choices are going to be reviewed; the improvement of the firm’s position in the global market (1st position in the specific industrial sectors worldwide) would be then an achievable target. The success of the strategic planning process used by the firm can be proved primarily by its performance. In accordance with the figures related with the firm’s activities – as included in its financial statements – the sales of Canon have been increased to 3,468 billion (2004) from 4.2 billion in the first year that the firm entered the particular industry (in 1950). The particular elements of the firm’s strategic planning process can be identified in Figure 5 (Appendix). The range of the firm’s products is significant including computer, optical products, photocopiers and cameras. The significant advantage of the firm towards its competitors can be identified to its

Discuss Nurse Practice Act related to abandonment Essay

Discuss Nurse Practice Act related to abandonment - Essay Example Every state in America has its own version of NPA and there may be differences in the application and interpretation of a law for a specific Nursing Board. However, it is important to note every state does not include the patient abandonment in its version of NPA. Patient abandonment is usually safeguarded through Business and Professions Code, disciplinary actions, Common Law practices and administrative legislation prevalent is a state or country. â€Å"On the other hand, not all laws governing the practice of nursing are found in "the Act" or its' regulations. Legal obligations common to various licensed healthcare professionals will apply to nurses.† (Erickson, p. 1, 2006). There is no concrete definition of abandonment because it can take forms and shapes, which are required to be interpreted within an available legal framework. In some cases, it may occur in denial of extra shift duty or an assigned task. However, nursing is a serious obligation either it is a normal shi ft duty or an extra one. â€Å"Once a nurse has accepted a patient assignment, he or she is accountable for providing competent care to the assigned patients.† (Lewis, p. 118, 2001).

Negotiating One's Salary and Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Negotiating One's Salary and Benefits - Essay Example Writing out applications and covering letters, attaching resumes and visiting job interviews till one is selected is a laborious process but one does ultimately learn what works and what doesn’t in the real world. The proof is that one, finally, gets the job - now what comes next? The question of salary and benefits during the selection process has brought out varying reactions from a number of different candidates. While some people embrace it as a way of proving their net worth in the market place, others fear and label it as unpleasant because it is likely to intervene in negotiations and could keep them back from joining a company. Thus, negotiating salary and benefits refers to the ability to know what the worth of your skills is on the marketplace. This is a tremendously essential requirement for job seekers who want to be shown the career paths available in an organization. Salary negotiation typically starts after the candidate has proved of some value or purpose to an employer or even on the basis of his or her job profile, career path adopted so far and prospects and potential for the future that an employer sees in them. Sometimes a candidate can overvalue himself or herself and, thus, disqualify oneself out of the reckoning for the final selection. In an employer’s market especially during a downturn this can leave many worthy, experienced and capable candidates feeling undervalued or not being required. If the candidate relents and joins the organization at a lower salary than he is worth. , no doubt the employer will get excited and eager to welcome the candidate but this euphoria will typically be short-lived since the candidate is liable to switch in the event of a better position available elsewhere at a later juncture. It is clear that the salary and benefits issue remains paramount in the job market, as well as opportunities for promotion and growth in employment because it has been seen that management is already intent about taking the best of value from an employee but hesitates to pay him or her what they are really worth. What organizations don’t realize are that it takes a lot of time and effort to advertise, recruit, interview, select, orient and train every employee and there are a lot of resources involved in training and development of an individual. It is customary for both prospective employer and job seekers to engage in these activities. So if the rewards and promotions are not commensurate with the efforts that the employees are putting in, ultimately they will leave and join other organizations, primarily competitors in the same industry. Looking at salary and benefits as part of the total compensation package is a much better prospect. As long as the emoluments are enough to keep the home fires burning, the inexperienced candidates should understand that their qualifications will be undervalued until they can attach some relevance to it in terms of earned experience or projects handled and completed so that they get some feeling of the real world in action. After spending at least 2 to 3 years in their first job they can claim to have learned the ropes and begin to hold their own in

Dinoflagellates And Bioluminescence Emission

Dinoflagellates And Bioluminescence Emission Bioluminescence is the emission of light from living organisms, without giving out appreciable or no heat. It is basically a 100% efficient system. Virtually all of the energy generated is converted into light with almost none lost in heat or sound production. It is literally a cold fire. The light results from a chemical reaction mediated by enzymes and involving specialized molecules in the organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in species too numerous to list but the most recognizable ones include dinoflagellates, some jellyfish and fireflies. Dinoflagellates and fireflies are by far the most common sources of bioluminescence in the ocean and on land respectively. Some deep sea fish are equipped with organs that produce luminescence to which prey is attracted. The flashes emitted by male and female fireflies are used as species specific signals for mating. The use of bioluminescence in an organism can be to evade predators, attacking its enemies, camouflage, food, attracting their mate s or sometimes due to organisms inside an organism. Dinoflagellates are unicellular aquatic organisms which come under the order Dinoflagellida and the class Phytomastigophorea with two uneven flagella for locomotion. Several thousand species of dinoflagellates are known to mankind. Most contain chlorophyll and are photosynthetic. Among these there are the diatoms, which are the primary producers of energy in the ocean food chain. Like many complex one celled organisms, dinoflagellates show traits of both animals and plants and are claimed by zoologists as protozoans and by botanists as algae. They are mostly marine creatures and in warm shallow waters they sometimes reproduce in enormous numbers resulting in a bloom. Many species of dinoflagellates are bioluminescent. Both heterotrophic and autotrophic dinoflagellates are known. Some can be both. They form a significant part of primary planktonic production in both oceans and lakes. Most dinoflagellates go through moderately complex life cycles involving several steps, sexual and ase xual, motile and non-motile. Some species form cysts composed of sporopollenin, and preserve as fossils. Dinoflagellates display considerable morphological variations and many share a common anatomical pattern during at least one stage of their life cycle. Most of them have two flagella inserted into their cell wall via the flagellar pores at approximately the same location. In many one of the flagella wraps around the cell and is known as the transverse flagellum, while the other longitudinal flagellum extends tangentially to the cell, perpendicular to the plane of the transverse flagellum. The beating of the longitudinal flagellum and the transverse flagellum imparts a forward and spiraling swimming motion, and defines the anterior and the posterior. The flagellar pore and point of flagellar insertion defines the ventral with the opposite side dorsal. Left and right sides of the cell are then defined as in most organisms. Basic anatomy of a thecate, dinokont dinoflagellate A depression occurs on the ventral surface at the point of flagellar insertion, and is known as the sulcus. The transverse flagellum occurs in a furrow known as the cingulum which encircles the cell except where it is interrupted by the sulcus on the ventral surface. The cell wall of dinoflagellates is subdivided into multiple polygonal amphiesmal vesicles of varying numbers from half a dozen to hundreds. In some dinoflagellates, these vesicles are filled with relatively thick cellulose plates with bounding sutures. When this occurs, the cell wall is referred to as a theca. Dinoflagellates possessing a theca are often referred to as armored dinoflagellates, while the ones which lack are referred to as naked dinoflagellates. Redrawn from Fensome et al. 1996 Schematic life cycle history of dinoflagellates Coming to the life cycle of dinoflagellates which is multi-staged and about 6 stages can be clearly identified in peridiniales dinoflagellates. The six stages are: When rapid growth and a population expansion is observed vegetative propagation dominates and takes over. Now the schizonts act as gametes and pair up to form zygotes. Due to this process one or more theca may be lost. A new theca is formed from the new diploid zygote. The activity level of the cell decreases, and with time the flagella is lost. This zygote is termed as a hypnozygote. When the theca is separated and broken and decayed the cyst is formed and completed. The cyst now settles down in the bottom on the sea. After the period of dormancy the theca is grown again and it becomes motile. For an organism to give off light, at least two chemicals are required in the presence of oxygen and the energy molecule ATP (Adenosine Tri Phosphate). The one which produces the light is generically called a luciferin and the one that drives or catalyzes the reaction is called a luciferase. Luciferase is the enzyme that catalyses the oxidation of luciferin which is the basic substrate in bioluminescent reactions. The basic reaction follows the sequence illustrated above: The luciferase catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin. Resulting in light and an inactive oxyluciferin. In most cases, fresh luciferin must be brought into the system, either through the diet or by internal synthesis. Sometimes the luciferin and luciferase are bound together in a single unit called a photo protein. This molecule can be triggered to produce light when a particular type of ion is added to the system (say calcium as it happens in the jellyfish, Aequorea victoria). Dinoflagellate luciferin is thought to be derived from chlorophyll, and has a very similar structure. In the genus Gonyaulax, at pH 8 the molecule is protected from the luciferase by a luciferin-binding protein, but when the pH lowers to around 6, the free luciferin reacts and light is produced. The structure of the luciferin in a dinoflagellate The ability to produce luminescence is strictly dependent upon the day or night cycle. In a twelve hour light or twelve hour dark cycle, dinoflagellates will only flash brightly during the dark phase. Light emitted is brightest after several hours of darkness. Early in the morning, glowing activity is reduced and they no longer give off light upon shaking or disturbing them. During the day, the dinoflagellates appear as ellipse shaped cells, pigmented red, indicating the presence of chlorophyll which enables photosynthesis to occur so they may harvest light from the sun. The luminescence is transient and the cells soon return to their resting state. Most cells flash for less than a second, however others appear toglow for 1-6 seconds. Upon repeated stimulation, light emission is much reduced. Within about half an hour of rest, the luminescence becomes brighter again. 12 hour light cycle Bioluminescence is used to evade predators which act as a type of burglar alarm for defense mechanism in dinoflagellates. They produce light when the deformation of the cell by minute forces triggers its luminescence. When the cell is disturbed by a predator, it will give a light flash lasting 0.1 to 0.5 seconds. The flash is meant to attract a secondary predator that will be more likely to attack the predator that is trying to consume the dinoflagellate. The light flash also makes the predator jump and worry about other predators attacking it, making the predator less likely to prey on the dinoflagellate.2 In most dinoflagellates, bioluminescence is controlled by an internal biological rhythm. They are on a circadian rhythm. Towards the end of daylight, luminous chemicals are packaged in vesicles called scintillons. The scintillons then migrate to the cytoplasm from the area around the nucleus. It is not currently known how the scintillons are moved to the cytoplasm. During the night light is triggered by mechanical stimulation. When action potential generates in the vacuole, the action potential propagates throughout the rest of the cell. This allows protons to pass from the vacuole to the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm becomes acidified, normally by hydrogen ions and the process is activated in the scintillons. Dinoflagellates have distinct chromosomes through the whole cell cycle although their condensation patterns vary during interphase, with a maximum unwinding corresponding with the peak of replication in S phase. They are attached to the nuclear envelope and have a unique organization. Free-living dinoflagellates have high chromosome numbers per haploid genome while parasitic dinoflagellates have only a few chromosomes. Chromosomal ultra structure varies during interphase, and lacks the typical banding pattern of mitotic eukaryotic chromosomes, reflecting the genome compartmentalization. Dinochromosomes show a banded and arched organization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and freeze-etching that corresponds to a cholesteric organization of their DNA with a constant left-handed twist. Whole-mount chromosomes have a left-handed screw-like configuration with differentiated roughly spherical ends. Dinomitosis occurs without nuclear envelope breakdown and nucleolar disassembly an d with an extra nuclear mitotic spindle without direct contact with the chromosomes. Dinoflagellates are true eukaryotes that experienced a secondary loss of histones during evolution, constituting the only living eukaryotic knockouts of histones. The ancestral group of the alveolates, that includes the dinoflagellates, had eukaryotic histones as observed in ciliates and apicomplexans suggesting that dinoflagellates may have experienced a secondary loss of histones, and a set of primitive bacterial HLP may have been reintroduced from a prokaryotic source by gene transfer. Dinoflagellates have significant genomic differences compared with higher eukaryotes at all levels, from base composition and methylation, to the structural organization of their DNA and chromosomal domains, that nevertheless led to a similar organization and functioning of nuclear domains. The exact way they use to regulate gene silencing and activation without histones is still unknown, although the high proportion of base methylation could be involved. The very mention of red tides brings to mind the fear of dead fish and toxic seafood. Red tide is a naturally occurring, higher than normal concentration of the microscopic algae. The massive multiplication of these tiny, single-celled algae is usually found in warm saltwater and is commonly referred to as a bloom. Even though they are important producers and a key component to the food chain, dinoflagellates are also known for producing deadly toxins, especially when they are present in large numbers. They can not only kill a large range of marine species, but can also impart fatal toxins into several species, especially shellfish. Usually deadly to finfish, shellfish are relatively unaffected. These shellfish may then be eaten by humans, who are then affected by the stored toxins.

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The crude extract was retrieved by homogenizing the bovine muscle tissue. The total enzyme in the muscle tissue can be illustrated through the total activity present in the crude extract, which was 5500 Â ± 200 units. Next the 40% ammonium sulfate step was performed. Ammonium sulfate was slowly added to a beaker that contained the crude extract until a 40% saturation level was reached. After centrifugation the pellet (which contained low soluble proteins and other cellular debris) was discarded and the supernatant was kept. The total protein was 124 Â ± 6 mg and the specific activity was 4500 Â ± 300 units. This resulted in a specific activity of 36 Â ± 4 units/mg. The yield was calculated to be 82 Â ± 9% and the purification factor was 1.4 Â ± 0.3. There was not much of an increase in the purity, but there was a decrease in the total protein and the specific activity as compared to the crude extract which suggests that that unwanted protein was removed during this purification step. Performing the 60% ammonium sulfate step further purified the 40% supernatant. The ammonium sulfate and was added to the 40% supernatant until a 60% saturation level was reached. This was then centrifuged, but this time the pellet was kept while the supernatant (which contained material such as nucleic acids and sugars) was discarded. The total protein recovered was 56.4 Â ± 0.4 mg and the total activity was 4140 Â ± 50 units. This produced a specific activity of 73 Â ± 1 units/mg. The yield was calculated to be 76 Â ± 4% and the purification factor was 2.8 Â ± 0.3. Each of these steps was consistent with the trends present in the theoretical values data because the purity increased. This indicates that the unwanted material was removed so that the 60% pellet can be us... ...olecular weight). By using the protein concentration and enzyme concentration of E10 and E11 the specific activity values can be calculated. The specific activity of E10 is 497.68 units/mg and E11 is 516.6 units/mg. The m form is assumed to have a lower binding affinity (lower Km) so this would elute out first thus we can conclude that the m form is present in the E10 fraction and the h form is present in the E11 fraction. The isozymes are assumed to have the same molecular weight but varying charge strength. With this information an ion exchange column can be performed in order to help separate the isozymes. For an anion exchange column the beads would be positive. By making one of the isozymes more negative it would bind to the beads while the other isozyme would elute out. A gel column can then be performed to confirm the presence of different isozymes.

The Gypsy Swing Cats and the Beginning of Jazz

Joshua Pauly Professor Hsu Artistic/Cultural Plunge Essay 11 April 2013 The Gypsy Swing Cats and the Beginning of Jazz On Wednesday April 10th I decided to go to the Kaffee Meister Coffeehouse, located at 9225 Carlton Hills Blvd Santee Ca. 92071, for the specific reason of enjoying some Jazz music played by the San Diego based Gypsy Swing Cats. I was quite impressed with how they performed by mixing an energetic and innovated blend of Swing, Jazz, and Blues. From what I observed, their music merges Gypsy melodies and rhythms, with the influences of American Jazz reminiscent of Paris in the 1930's: cool, charming, and classy.The music of the Gypsy Swing Cats is thoroughly modern infused with the wild, mysteriously free and exciting Gypsy flavors. The tantalizing melodies of the Gypsy Swing Cats bring the audience a unique and new experience. Their highly rhythmic sound will electrify your listening experience with a new exciting energy. Gypsy Jazz, also known as Gypsy Swing, is a musi cal expression often said to have been started by guitarist Jean â€Å"Django† Reinhardt. He was foremost amongst a group of Gypsy guitarists working in and around Paris in the 1930's.The music combined the exciting sound of American Jazz that transformed the old into the new. The guitarists supercharged the music further by adding Swing to the fire and melancholia of the unique Gypsy sound. The tantalizing melodies of the Gypsy Swing Cats bring the audience a unique and new experience. My dad is a big fan of Jazz music and he played it a lot around me when I was growing up, but I never really paid attention to it or who the famous musicians of the genre were.Yeah, this Jazz music was and still is very soothing to my mind, but I just personally never had any drive to listen to it on my own. After Hearing The Gypsy Swing Cats’ band play this genre of music that I was not very familiar with, I decided to embark on a journey of discovering something new to add to my not-s o-vastly knowledgeable brain, how Jazz was born. Jazz started when World War I had just ended and a social revolution was on its way. Customs and values of previous social norms were rejected. Life was to be lived to the fullest.This was also known as the era of the â€Å"lost generations,† and the â€Å"flapper† with her rolled stockings, short skirts, and straight up-and-down look. They disturbed their elders in the casino, night clubs, and speakeasies that replaced the ballrooms of prewar days. Dancing became more informal. At the close of the nineteenth century in the unpleasant dance halls and brothels of the South and Midwest, the word Jazz commonly meant sexual intercourse. Southern blacks, delivered from slavery a few decades before, started playing European music with Afro modifications.The first place of jazz has many origins: New Orleans, St. Louis, Memphis, and Kansas City are just a few. But New Orleans was and still remains an important jazz center. The e thnic rainbow of people who went to the bars and brothels were a big part of the development of jazz. This city had been under Spanish French rule because of the Louisiana Purchase. By 1900 New Orleans was a blend of Spanish, French, English, German, Italian, Slavic and countless blacks originally brought in the country as slaves.The first jazz bands contained a â€Å"rhythm section† consisting of a string bass, drums, and a guitar or banjo, and a â€Å"melodic section† with one or two cornets, a trombone, a clarinet, and sometimes even a violin. Years later, jazz was taken over by large orchestras; A â€Å"society jazz† contained fifteen or more musicians. Today, there is a renewed interest in the â€Å"big band† era, even though the music has very little to do with real jazz. Jazz is characterized by certain features. The first is a tendency to stress the weak beats of the bar (2nd and 4th) in contrast to traditional music which stressed the first and t hird beats.The second feature is syncopation through an extensive repetition of short and strongly rhythmic phrases or â€Å"riffs†. The third feature of jazz is swing (regular but subtle pulsation which animates 4/4 time). The swing must be present in every good jazz performance. Jazz as a musical style it has been with us for more than a century. Jazz originated in the United States, It has spread over the entire world, and its influence can be seen everywhere. It is a universal language and means of communication, understood by people in all nations and all walks of life.It has been a major influence on many styles and classes of music since its origin in the late 1800's. It has also influenced dance, clothing styles, the recording industry, the film industry, radio and television, our language, and many other aspects of our lives. One major contributor to jazz was Louis Daniel Armstrong who was born in the Storyville District of New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 4, 1901. He always celebrated his birth as July 4, 1900 because that is what he was told and believed.His real date of birth was not known until after his death July 6, 1971. His father Willie, a laborer, left the family soon after he was born, his mother, a domestic servant and a part time prostitute called Mayanne, left Louis and his sister Beatrice, also called Mama Lucy, in the care of his grandma much of the time, however he always believed the love of his family helped him make it through those rough times. Louis dressed in rags and usually shopped in garbage cans. He sang with other boys on the streets for tips and began to develop his musical talents.At this time in his life, it was not a promising time for young Louis. To celebrate the New Year in 1913 Louis discharged a borrowed pistol into the air and was arrested. A very fortunate occurrence for Jazz and probably for him, he was then sent to the city's Colored Waif's Home for Boys, where he came under the very capable tutorship o f Peter Davis, the music instructor at the home. Louis had some background in harmony singing, as a natural ability, and the experience of singing on the streets, but under Mr.Davis he began to study music. First vocals, then percussion, then he became the home bugler, and finally cornet. The music was very structured mostly marches and other ensemble music. When being released from the waif's home at age fourteen, Louis worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a horse and cart. He also listened to bands at clubs like the Come Clean Dance Hall and Mahogany Hall, in Storyville. Joe â€Å"King† Oliver with the Kid Ory Band was his favorite and he quickly became young Louis's mentor.By 1917 Louis was playing in various groups at dive bars in New Orleans' Storyville section. In 1919 he joined Fate Marable's band in St. Louis, and stayed with him until 1921. Marable headed a band and he played in Zutty Singleton's Trio, Papa Celestin's Tuxedo Orchestra, The Si lver Leaf Band, and When King Oliver left New Orleans in 1919 to go to Chicago, Louis took his place in Kid Ory's band, at the suggestion of Oliver. In 1922 Louis received a telegram from Joe Oliver, asking him to join his Creole Jazz Band at Lincoln Gardens in Chicago.Louis learned much working with Oliver. The experience of playing second cornet helped to develop his ear and harmonies, and, the importance of playing straight lead, as Oliver did, were lessons that he would use for the remainder of his life. While playing in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Louis met Lillian Hardin the piano player for the band, and they were married in February of 1924. By the end of 1924 she pressured Louis to leave the Oliver band. He moved to New York to play in Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra for 13 months.While in New York he worked many recording sessions with numerous Blues singers including Bessie Smith on her 1925 classic recording of â€Å"St. Louis Blues†. In 1925 Armstrong moved back to Chicago and joined his wife's band at the Dreamland. He recorded his first Hot Five records that same year. This was the first time Louis had made records under his own name. The records made by Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven are considered to be absolute jazz classics and the peak of his creative powers. The band never played live, but continued recording until 1928.Louis Armstrong died in 1969 his manager was Joe Glaser. According to records the first person to play jazz music was a man born in 1878, the legendary Buddy Bolden. The old-time musicians say that Buddy Bolden was â€Å"the first musician to start the big noise in Jazz. † They say he'd shine his cornet â€Å"till it glistened like a woman's legs†. Then he'd put his horn out the window and say to his band, â€Å"Let's call the children home†. He would blow and his children would come running. It has also been said that, â€Å"his trumpet could be heard all over New Orleans, and even acro ss the river in Algiers†.

Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness Essay Example

Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness Essay Example Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness Paper Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness Paper Having a poor understanding of the influence of cross cultural differences in areas such as management, PR, advertising and negotiations can eventually lead to blunders that can have damaging consequences. It is crucial for todays business personnel to understand the impact of cross cultural differences on business, trade and internal company organization. The success or failure of a company, venture, merger or acquisition is essentially in the hands of people. If these people are not cross culturally aware then misunderstandings, offence and a breakdown in communication can occur. The need for greater cross cultural awareness is heightened in our global economies. Cross cultural differences in matters such as language, etiquette, non-verbal communication, norms and values can, do and will lead to cross cultural blunders. Cross cultural blunders that could have been avoided with appropriate cross cultural awareness training are as following: 1. Locum is a Swedish company. As most companies do at Christmas they sent out Christmas cards to customers. In 1991, they decided to give their logo a little holiday spirit by replacing the o in Locum with a heart. 2. The Japanese company Matsushita Electric was promoting a new Japanese PC for internet users. Panasonic created the new web browser and had received license to use the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker as an interactive internet guide. The day before the huge marketing campaign, Panasonic realized its error and pulled the plug. The ads for the new product featured the following slogan: Touch Woody The Internet Pecker. The company only realized its cross cultural blunder when an embarrassed American explained what Touch Woodys Pecker could be interpreted as! 3. The Swedish furniture giant IKEA somehow agreed upon the name FARTFULL for one of its new desks. 4. In the late 1970s, Wang, the American computer company could not understand why its British branches were refusing to use its latest motto Wang Cares. Of course, to British ears this sounds too close to Wankers which would not really give a very positive image to any company. 5. There are several examples of companies getting tangled up with bad translations of products due to the word mist. Irish Mist (an alcoholic drink), Mist Stick (a curling iron from Clairol) and Silver Mist (Rolls Royce car) all flopping as mist in German means dung/manure. Fancy a glass of Irish dung. 6. Traficante and Italian mineral water found a great reception in Spains underworld. In Spanish it translates as drug dealer. 7. In 2002, Umbro the UK sports manufacturer had to withdraw its new trainers (sneakers) called the Zyklon. The firm received complaints from many organizations and individuals as it was the name of the gas used by the Nazi regime to murder millions of Jews in concentration camps. 8. Sharwoods, a UK food manufacturer, spent  £6 million on a campaign to launch its new Bundh sauces. It received calls from numerous Punjabi speakers telling them that bundh sounded just like the Punjabi word for arse. 9. Honda introduced their new car Fitta into Nordic countries in 2001. If they had taken the time to undertake some cross cultural marketing research they may have discovered that Fitta was an old word used in vulgar language to refer to a womans genitals in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. In the end they renamed it Honda Jazz. 10. A nice cross cultural example of the fact that all pictures or symbols are not interpreted the same across the world: staff at the African port of Stevadores saw the internationally recognized symbol for fragile (i.e. broken wine glass) and presumed it was a box of broken glass. Rather than waste space they threw all the boxes into the sea. 11. Pepsodent tried to sell its toothpaste in Southeast Asia by emphasizing that it whitens your teeth. They found out that the local natives chew betel nuts to blacken their teeth which they find attractive. 12. Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name Pavian to suggest French chic but Pavian means baboon in German. 13. In 1995, Nintendo has set the gaming world on fire with their new DS system, built entirely around its touch screen. A Korean company wanting to make a piece of dictionary software that takes advantage of the touch screen capabilities. Touch Dictionary just needed to shorten it up, to make it snappier, something cool that the kids will remember, hence â€Å"Touch Dic.† 14. The American Dairy Associations huge success with its campaign Got Milk? prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention that the Spanish translation read Are you lactating? 15. When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the USA with a cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what is inside since many people cannot read! 16. A company advertised eyeglasses in Thailand by featuring a variety of cute animals wearing glasses. The ad was a poor choice since animals are considered to be a form of low life and no self respecting. Thai would wear anything worn by animals. 17. The soft drink Fresca was being promoted by a saleswoman in Mexico. She was surprised that her sales pitch was greeted with laughter, and later embarrassed when she learned that fresca is slang for lesbian. 18. A soft drink was introduced into Arab countries with an attractive label that had stars on itsix-pointed stars. The Arabs interpreted this as pro-Israeli and refused to buy it. Another label was printed in ten languages, one of which was Hebrewagain the Arabs did not buy it. In addition to interpersonal cross cultural gaffes, the translation of documents, brochures, advertisements and signs also offer some comical cross cultural blunders. 19. Kellogg had to rename its Bran Buds cereal in Sweden when it discovered that the name roughly translated to burned farmer. 20. When PepsiCo advertised Pepsi in Taiwan with the ad Come Alive With Pepsi they had no idea that it would be translated into Chinese as Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead. 21. American medical containers were distributed in Great Britain and caused quite a stir. The instructions to Take off top and push in bottom, innocuous to Americans, had very strong sexual connotations to the British. 22. In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water. 23. United Airlines unknowingly got off on the wrong foot during its initial flights from Hong Kong. To commemorate the occasion, they handed out white carnations to the passengers. When they learned that to many Asians white flowers represent bad luck and even death, they changed to red carnations 24. A famous drug company marketed a new remedy in the United Arab Emirates. To avoid any mistakes they used pictures. The first picture was of someone ill, the next picture showed the person taking the medication, the last picture showed them looking well. What they forgot is that in the Arab world people read from right to left! In conclusion, poor cross cultural awareness has many consequences, some serious others comical. It is imperative that in the global economy cross cultural awareness is seen a necessary investment to avoid such blunders.

How to Convert Liters to Milliliters

How to Convert Liters to Milliliters The liter and the milliliter are both key units of volume in the metric system. The method for converting liters to milliliters is demonstrated in this worked example problem. How Many Milliliters in a Liter? The key to working a liter to milliliter problem (or vice versa) is to know the conversion factor. There are 1000 milliliters in each liter. Because this is a factor of 10, you dont actually have to break out the calculator to do a conversion. You can simply move the decimal point. Move it three spaces to the right to convert liters to milliliters (e.g., 5.442 L 5443 ml) or three spaces to the left to convert milliliters to liters (e.g., 45 ml 0.045 L). Problem How many milliliters are in a 5.0-liter canister? Solution 1 liter 1000 mL Set up the conversion so the desired unit will be cancelled out. In this case, we want mL to be the remaining unit. Volume in mL (Volume in L) x (1000 mL/1 L) Volume in mL 5.0 L x (1000 mL/1 L) Volume in mL 5000 mL Answer There are 5000 mL in a 5.0-liter canister. Check your answer to make sure it makes sense. There are 1000 times more milliliters than liters, so the milliliter number should be much greater than the liter number. Also, since we are multiplying by a factor of 10, the value of the digits wont change. Its only a matter of moving the decimal point.

Paper #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper #2 - Essay Example For instance demonstrations against the war in Iraq, or campaigning on environmental issues by the environmentalist lobby shows that there is plenty of political activity in the United States that bypasses the main political parties. The Democrats and Republicans have made efforts in recent elections to increase voter turnout particularly in marginal states or the larger states such as California and New York. The political parties sometimes target particular social groups to increase their share of the popular vote, for instance African – Americans, Hispanic –Americans, and women. In marginal states or close elections extra turnout in these groups makes all the difference between victory and defeat. The actual electoral system for presidential elections came under greater scrutiny in the wake of the 2000 election which hung in the balance for weeks whilst judges considered the validity of spoilt ballot papers in Miami. Even the strongest supporters of the Electoral College have never claimed it is a proportional system, though the candidate with the largest number of votes generally wins. However neither of the main political parties would support another electoral system, as they would not expect such a close result again. Another problem is related to the time between the presidential election and the inauguration of the next president, there is only three months for legal decisions to be made in. Patterson notes that pressure groups, the media, and television coverage can have a profound affect on American politics and society. Those influences can sometimes be regarded as beneficial and sometimes detrimental (the category chosen can depend on personal subjective opinion). Patterson is not alone in suggesting that some pressure groups seem to have an unhealthy influence upon American society and politics. The media has great influence over public opinion, and has the power to

History of Search Engines Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of Search Engines - Dissertation Example nt of time, the files used to remain spread on unidentified public FTP servers which were only able to be found when someone declared a particular file’s availability through email and discussion forum or such similar sources. After a time-span of a year a dispersed search as well as recovery system procedure for documents known by the name of Gopher, was made available in the Internet. This was developed by a team of researchers belonging to the University of Minnesota. This release of Gopher was trailed by the emergence of few programs of searching known as Jughead as well as Veronica. These programs were stated to explore those files which were grouped in the directory systems of Gopher and made available a search related to the records and names with the help of a keyword on the numerous servers of Gopher (Gasser, 2006). Accessing the Internet speedily stretched outside its earlier area of research which was of industrial organizations and academic world. This reformation and alteration took place after the World Wide Web (WWW), which was made available publicly from August 1991, achieved vital mass in the year 1993. This was achieved with the help of the emergence of ‘Mosaic’ which was a web browser. ‘Mosaic’ was stated to be the initial program that offered a user a graphical user interface. Corresponding to the emergence of ‘Mosaic’, the earliest search engine of Web came forward. Wandex which was a directory of confined Universal Resource Locator (URL) and was founded on the earliest web crawler known as the World Wide Web Wanderer was developed. This was initially developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the reason of tracking the progress of the web. At the similar time, a range of search engines surfaced, entailing Aliweb.... This essay discusses that the information or data will be collected from secondary sources such as library materials. The sources will include journals, books, reports, articles, and magazines. This will be observed to be quite suitable for the research study owing to the easy accessibility and the broad mixture of sources which will assist in making the research more precise and correct. It is important that the information is gathered from the right sources. The legitimacy of the sources considered in this study will also be considered as a reason for selecting this process.The way of evaluating the information in this research study will be with the help of qualitative method. The qualitative method will be selected for the study as the data collected will consist of a wide range of information which will be to a certain extent impossible to be quantified. From the above discussion, the history of the search engines can be evidently traced. It can be inferred from the history that various search engines were released owing to their importance. Constant innovations were made so as to enhance the functions of the search engines. The amount of people browsing the web has been increasing with every passing day and so is the requirement of search engines. These not only aid in narrowing down one’s search but is also being used a source of promotion by the companies. The research will help to provide a pertinent reflection on this valuable factor in the global Internet platform.